The Nationals’ Member for Euroa, Annabelle Cleeland, has stressed the need for government dental health initiatives to be extended to all Victorian students as a matter of priority, rather than waiting until an election year in 2026.
Programs like Smile Squad currently offer free oral health promotion, dental check-ups, and treatment to Victorian government school students, but it is not expected to be rolled out in low-fee Catholic and Independent schools until at least 2026.
Ms Cleeland recently wrote to the health minister stressing the need for the services to be expanded to all local students due to non-government schools in the region being less advantaged than most across Victoria.
“Labor has acknowledged the need for expanding these crucial services, however had decided to withhold it from communities that need it until an election year,” Ms Cleeland said.
“Many of the region’s non-government schools are not privileged private schools like those in Melbourne, with the majority of students recorded as being disadvantaged by criteria used by our own education department.”
Local non-government schools in towns like Heathcote, Rushworth, Benalla, Seymour, Nagambie, and Euroa all have a number of students coming from disadvantaged backgrounds.
86 per cent of students at St Mary’s in Rushworth were in the bottom two quartiles when it comes to the socio-educational advantage (SEA) system used by Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA).
A majority of students were in the bottom two SEA quartiles at several other local schools including 74 per cent of students at Holy Rosary in Heathcote, 71 per cent at St Mary’s College in Seymour, 60 per cent at St Joseph’s Nagambie, 57 per cent at FCJ Benalla, 52 per cent at St Joseph’s Benalla, and 51 per cent at St John’s Euroa.
Ms Cleeland said increasing the availability of free dental programs for students would improve the health and wellbeing of local students that need it most.
“Delayed treatment of dental issues leads to a whole range of adverse health outcomes and entrenched health disadvantages for kids growing up in our towns, and this needs to be addressed absolutely immediately,” Ms Cleeland said.
“For the sake of children in the region, addressing the dental health of all students in our region is something that must be looked at immediately by this government.”
Ms Cleeland has continued to campaign for local families attending low-fee Catholic and Independent schools across the region, including calls for increased access to the $400 school saving bonus and eyecare services.
